


To friends and rotten pumpkins

by a_Wreck



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Bad Days, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Grantaire gets cheering up, Grantaire needs cheering up, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marius has a lot of soup, Multi, Other, Sad Grantaire, and an attentive boyfriend, and r has great friends, jehan has a new iguana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 23:02:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21241439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_Wreck/pseuds/a_Wreck
Summary: Grantaire needs cheering up but doesn't want to ask for it.His friends still help him, because they are the best.





	To friends and rotten pumpkins

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this fic for [yayeeh1344](https://yayee-prsp.tumblr.com) and she asked for winter fluff and Grantaire showered in love. This fic takes winter fluff very loosely Grantaire, on the other hand, is not so much showered in love but drowned, so I hope that makes up for it.  
Also, this is a Halloween exchange, so there's a pumpkin. And Sabrina.  
...  
Disclaimer: there's a quite obvious quote from Rick Riordan. I didn't wrote that. (But everything else *smirksmirk*)

Their landlady decided to throw out the remainders of their jack o lantern. She wasn’t in fault that she did that, because the remainders of the lantern was a very generous term to use for the pile of smelly, rotten, moldy something that was sitting at the side of their entrance at the beginning of December. Grantaire knew it was well past time for it to go. Hell, he should have thrown it out himself weeks ago. It wasn’t even a nice jack o lantern, since Grantaire had left Enjolras and the carved out pumpkin unattended for ten minutes which resulted in a mouth so big that its two sides almost connected at the back.

Grantaire had but one excuse for keeping the monstrosity, that he hated December and the frequent depressive episodes that it brought on him. He had hoped that maybe if he kept the Halloween spirit around, he would somehow get through the time until Christmas undisturbed by his fucked up mental health. That was obviously a stupid idea. And now, that the something that was once a pumpkin was gone, he could already feel a bad day coming on him.

The lucky thing about that day was that, at least, he didn’t have any specific tasks to complete for tomorrow, so he could afford an unproductive day that was surely ahead of him, but Grantaire recognised the beginning of a slump when he saw one. This bad day had to potential to turn into a bad week and he couldn’t afford that.

Usually, he battled these days by telling Enjolras he felt out of sorts and his boyfriend would send him reassuring texts from time to time during the day, then bring him his favourite food when he arrived home to cuddle together on the sofa. However, today was also a rough day for Enjolras. Grantaire knew that he was going to run from meeting to meeting and he would barely have time to grab something to eat yet alone keeping the texts to Grantaire in mind. He also knew that one of his meetings was an important one, which he had been preparing for weeks. He shouldn’t be having to concentrate on Grantaire’s wellbeing, he had enough on his plate already. So Grantaire smiled through Enjolras’s departure and wished him luck for work. He only let his smile drop when the door was closed behind his boyfriend.

He sat down on the sofa with a sigh, melting into the cushions. He had already yearned for crawling back into his bed and going back to sleep, but he had a slump to beat. He knew he should try to do something, however small that something was. Putting the plates into the dishwasher for example. That could work. It was only a few feet away after all. He sighed again and closed his eyes to muster some strength for the journey ahead of him.

He woke to the sound of the doorbell. He didn’t realise where he was for a moment and blinked lazily a few times. The it hit him that he was still sitting on the sofa, apparently getting ready to get up for twenty minutes. The doorbell rang again and Grantaire forced himself to get up and stumble over the flat to open it.

“Hello” Combeferre greeted him cheerfully. “I have a book to read, I thought you might want to read it with me” he announced as he moved past Grantaire to get rid of his coat. The latter was too surprised to say anything, most probably just gaping like a very tired fish.

“And how do you suppose we read a book together?” he finally managed to ask. “I don’t have a copy of this” he motioned towards the book he had never seen before in his life.

“Oh, don’t worry! I’ll just read it aloud and you can listen” Combeferre nodded. “Bedroom?”

“If it wasn’t you, Ferre, I would think you might be trying to take advantage of me” Grantaire muttered, following Combeferre through his flat.

“I’ll take advantage of a chance for an audience for this wonderful book” Combeferre nodded. “Which side do you want?” he asked as he entered the bedroom.

“Apollo’s” Grantaire decided after a moment, laying down and burying his face into Enjolras’s pillow.

“Fine by me” Combeferre nodded as he settled next to Grantaire, opening his book.

“Is this a children’s book?” Grantaire raised an eyebrow at the cover.

“Yes, but it’s really good. And very up your alley” he added, then pushed his glasses further up his nose and started reading. “Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. If you’re reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.”

Grantaire closed his eyes, imagining the characters and relaxing into the story. By the time Percy Jackson had arrived at New York the doorbell was ringing again and Combeferre got up to answer it, leaving a very confused Grantaire to stare at the bedroom door. After what felt like entirely too much waiting, Combeferre arrived back with Bahorel walking in after him.

“Sorry, I need to go now, but Bahorel realised he was terribly behind on some tv shows and would like your assistance” Combeferre explained with an air that suggested that it was the most normal occurrence.

“What tv shows?” Grantaire sat up, deciding not to ponder if this chain of events was a coincidence or an organized effort to get him out of a slump he told no one about, and play along instead.

“The chilling adventures of Sabrina” Bahorel answered and the next moment Grantaire found himself walking towards the living room sofa without any difficulty. When someone is so baffled by his friends as Grantaire was right then, getting up doesn’t even seem that hard.

“But it’s way past Halloween” he pointed out as he took his usual place by the tv, mentally shredding a few tears for that disgusting pile of rotted pumpkin.

“I told you I was behind” Bahorel reminded him with a shrug as he went about setting up Netflix on the tv. 

By the time Bahorel was finally ready, Combeferre had already left for work. (He left the book on Grantaire’s bedside table, which Grantaire understood as the silent order it was, and made a mental note to pick it up in the near future.)

“Just so you know” Bahorel confessed as the images of the intro started playing on the screen. “I might get a little scared sometimes. This witch shit can freak me out.”

“That’s alright buddy” Grantaire laughed. “I won’t tell anyone. Though don’t blame me if Bossuet and Joly receive a few videos this morning.”

“Traitor” Bahorel muttered but his attention was already mostly on the tv. He probably knew he wasn’t in real danger and Grantaire had no idea where his phone was at that moment.

After two episodes the doorbell rang again, and it opened to reveal Marius and Cosette and a huge saucepan in Marius’s hands.

“We made too much soup for lunch” the man stammered out as he went straight into the kitchen to relieve himself from his weight. Grantaire thought back to the single banana he forced into himself that morning so Enjolras wouldn’t worry about his mental state and realised the soup was, in fact, very welcome, however strange the offer was.

They spent a nice meal, during which Grantaire mostly listened to Bahorel’s and Cosette’s lively discussion about hiking and wondered what Marius might be daydreaming about. After the four of them were finished with lunch and Cosette had packed the dishwasher before Grantaire even realised it needed to be packed, they said their good byes only for Grantaire to let Courfeyrac into the apartment not five minutes later.

“There was an incredible sale in Lush, but I don’t have a bathtub. Fancy a wellness hour?” he held up two paper bags full of bath bombs and the like.

The simple question however, managed to cause Grantaire a smaller crisis, since the act of changing into swimming trunks seemed like too much effort for him, but a wellness hour did sound quite nice. Luckily, Grantaire’s inner conflict was promptly ended by Courfeyrac declaring that he was going to get the water running and that Grantaire should go and change. Coming up with an excuse to say no definitely required too much effort.

Five minutes later, when Grantaire was soaking in a tub of warm water, filled with bubbles and oils, listening to Courfeyrac rambling about a YouTube video he saw mixed with a few random comments about Jehan’s new iguana with a random indie soundtrack playing in the background that Courfeyrac currently claimed as his favourite, he had decided that it was definitely worth the trouble of changing.

The other positive side of the impromptu wellness session was that it indirectly forced Grantaire to change into a fresh set of clothes, something that he usually didn’t have energy for on his bad days. This way, he was clean, fully dressed and wrapped up in a blanket on the living room sofa when the doorbell rang again and Courfeyrac jumped up excitedly to let Musichetta, Joly and Bossuet enter the flat.

“I want to bake” Musichetta declared. “And they helped me bring all the ingredients” she nodded towards her boyfriends, who held up the two linen bags full of food proudly.

“But you have a kitchen at home” Grantaire heard himself saying, eyeing his friends suspiciously. By know he was almost definitely sure this whole thing was planned but he was yet to figure out how the others knew about his bad day when he only realised, he was having one that morning and he didn’t tell anyone about it.

“Sure, but you are going to help, silly” Musichetta added cheerfully, lining her supplies on the counter.

“We’re making Enjolras’s favourite cookie” Bossuet supplied.

“You said you wanted to surprise him today” Joly reminded him with a kind smile and oh, right. Grantaire had planned on baking something nice for Enjolras to reward him after his hard day, before his own day turned into a struggle.

“That’s right” he confirmed as he waved Courfeyrac goodbye, who had silently collected his belongings and left before he could get tempted to ruin his stomach on cookie dough.

“Delicious smells” Feuilly remarked as he entered the flat with Eponine behind him two hours later. The trio had just left a few minutes ago and the house was indeed filled with the smell of freshly baked cookies.

“For what do I own the pleasure?” Grantaire asked, amused. It had fully caught up to him by then that this was a very organised cheering up campaign from his friends and if he was honest, he was looking forward to what excuse Feuilly and Eponine might come up with for their visit.

“I have to finish fifty origami frogs for tomorrow” Feuilly lifted up the shoebox in his hands.

“And I have a new nail polish that will look fantastic on your toes” Eponine added.

“Well, come in, I guess!” Grantaire let them in with a shrug, not really sure about the whole origami business.

Grantaire had made origami before in art school. He vividly remembered hating it. The papers were small, the progress slow and anything he did looked like it was made by a five-year-old, who lost his patience about halfway through.

Making these origami frogs was quite calming though. Granted, Grantaire wasn’t required to complete anything, he just needed to fold colourful papers in half so Feuilly could work on the more complicated parts. All the while, Eponine hummed quietly under her breath as she was painting his toes. It was nice. After staying in the bath for hours and working in the kitchen (mostly telling his friends what was where, but still) he felt a bit worn out, and having to do nothing but folding papers and holding his feet steady allowed his mind to freely black out and reload.

It was almost around seven when his friends had to go, but they made a point of staying until Jehan arrived in their usual colourful attire and sporting an enchanted smile.

“It’s snowing” was all they said before they entered the kitchen, put on some water to boil and pulled out two teabags from the large bag that hung from their back. A few minutes later Grantaire was sitting on his balcony in his coat, wrapped into several layers of blankets and scarves with a warm mug of tea in his hands and Jehan curled up against his side.

Many people thought Grantaire didn’t like cuddling, but his friends knew that wasn’t the case. He actually loved to cuddle. He was just very particular about who he cuddled with. it wasn’t about being close to someone, though that was definitely part of it, but for example, for some reason he didn’t like it that much when Joly or Eponine hugged him. It always felt kind of awkward. But with some people it came naturally. Not with most people, to be precise, only with Jehan and Enjolras. But Grantaire even craved being hugged by them.

“It’s so nice out here” Jehan muttered as they glanced up at the already dark sky, watching the snowflakes lazily float around in the light coming from the flat.

“Magical” Grantaire tried to drench his words in sarcasm but only half succeeded, because the evening was indeed magical with the blankets, hot tea, Jehan’s red locks in the corner of his vision as the street under his balcony got whiter and whiter.

He had almost fallen asleep when he heard keys turn in the lock.

“Grantaire?” Enjolras asked uncertainly a moment later, obviously not expecting his boyfriend to be sitting on the cold balcony, but not finding him inside.

“We are here” Jehan announced as they slipped out from under the blankets and took Grantaire’s tea from his hand so he could stand as well.

“What were you doing there?” Enjolras asked curiously when they entered, automatically opening his arms for Grantaire to slump against him.

“Watching the snow fall” Jehan declared as Enjolras closed his arms around his boyfriend and started playing with his hair absentmindedly.

“Hmm” he muttered distractedly as Grantaire dug his nose into his neck, to show his contentment with the scalp massage.

“I better get going” Jehan declared. “I need to feed my Courf and my iguana.”

“Good luck” Grantaire muttered, sending a thankful smile towards Jehan as they threw on their coat, then looked up at Enjolras as the door closed behind their friend. “How was your day?”

“Stressful” the man allowed.

“I made you your favourite cookies. Or me, Joly, Bossuet and Chetta made you your favourite cookies to be precise.”

“Really?” Enjolras’s eyes lit up, which earned him a quick kiss on the mouth from Grantaire.

“Yeah, you should get into something more comfortable” he pointed at Enjolras’s suit. “Then cuddle with me on the sofa and eat cookies.”

“Sounds like a dream” Enjolras graced Grantaire with one of his gloriously happy smiles before he disappeared into their bedroom. Grantaire used the time to peel off his coat and the many layers of clothing Jehan instructed him to wear, put some cookies in a bowl and take his place on the sofa.

“So” Enjolras flopped down next to him a moment later. “How was your day?”

“Well, it didn’t start out so well. I was afraid I might fall into a slump” Grantaire admitted, then – before Enjolras could ask – he added quickly. “I didn’t want to tell you, because you had such a stressful day already. But it turned out okay. You wouldn’t believe, but all our friends have turned up and it really helped.”

“It did? I’m glad” Enjolras smiled.

“Wait, you don’t sound surprised” Grantaire glanced at him suspiciously.

“Why would I be? I was the one who asked them to come over so you wouldn’t fall into a slump. I’m sorry I didn’t do it myself but as you said, it was a hard day for me too.”

“You did what? But I didn’t even tell you” Grantaire gaped at his boyfriend in disbelief, who only chuckled softly.

“Grantaire, you didn’t try to steal my food, not even once, during the whole morning and you didn’t sing anything while I was dressing. It didn’t take a genius to realize you had a bad day.”

“I love you” was all that Grantaire managed to choke out and apparently Enjolras didn’t need anything more, because he closed Grantaire into his arms and whispered I love you back into his hair.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this story! Please leave kudos and comments!  
Also check out my [Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/awreckfics) for my ramblings and head canons! (And don't be afraid to hit me up if you feel like it!)


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